Systems and methods for scoring phone numbers

ABSTRACT

Certain implementations of the disclosed technology include systems and methods for determining a reachability score of a phone number. A method includes receiving personally identifiable information associated with the subject; querying one or more public or private databases with the personally identifiable information; receiving, in response to the querying, phone number information related to the personally identifiable information; extracting, from the phone number information, one or more phone numbers associated with the subject; determining, with one or more computer processors, based at least in part on the one or more phone numbers, a phone type corresponding to the respective one or more phone numbers; determining, with the one or more computer processors, a reachability score for at least one of the one or more phone numbers, wherein the reachability score is based, at least in part, on the phone type; and outputting an indication of the reachability score.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/841,036, filed 31 Aug. 2015 and published as U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. US2015/0373188, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/274,222, filed on 9 May 2014 and issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,167,081 on 20 Oct. 2015, and entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Scoring Phone Numbers,” the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety. This application is alsorelated to PCT application PCT/US2015/021150, filed on 18 Mar. 2015,entitled “Systems and Methods for Scoring Phone Numbers,” the contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In today's society, most people can generally be reached by phone if thecaller has a correct and updated phone number. A person may accumulateseveral phone numbers over their lifetime, and it is common for multipledifferent phone numbers to be associated with the person. For example, aperson may have one phone number associated with a landline, anothernumber associated with a cellular phone, another number associated witha work phone, and multiple other numbers associated with previousresidences and/or previous cell phone numbers. In some cases, certainphone numbers may be a part of a publicly available record, for example,via phone books that list residential landline numbers. In other cases,private or semi-private records may be utilized to associate aparticular person with a particular phone number. It is often difficultto determine which of the multiple phone numbers are accurate andup-to-date. A need exists to identify a phone number such that, whencalled, is likely to result in reaching a given subject.

SUMMARY

Some or all of the above needs may be addressed by certainimplementations of the disclosed technology. Certain implementations mayinclude systems and methods for scoring phone numbers. In particular,the scoring may provide an indication of the likelihood of reaching aparticular subject by calling a particular phone number.

According to an example implementation, a computer-implemented method isprovided. The method includes receiving personally identifiableinformation (PII) comprising at least a name of a subject and an addressassociated with the subject. The method includes querying one or morepublic or private databases with the personally identifiableinformation; receiving, in response to the querying, phone numberinformation related to the personally identifiable information;extracting, from the phone number information, one or more phone numbersassociated with the subject; determining, with one or more computerprocessors, based at least in part on the one or more phone numbers, aphone type corresponding to the respective one or more phone numbers;determining, with the one or more computer processors, a reachabilityscore for at least one of the one or more phone numbers, wherein thereachability score is based, at least in part, on the phone type; andoutputting an indication of the reachability score.

According to another example implementation, a system is provided. Thesystem includes at least one memory for storing data andcomputer-executable instructions; and at least one processor configuredto access the at least one memory. The at least one processor is furtherconfigured to execute the computer-executable instructions to receivepersonally identifiable information comprising at least a name of asubject and an address associated with the subject; query one or morepublic or private databases with the personally identifiableinformation; receive, in response to the querying, phone numberinformation related to the personally identifiable information; extract,from the phone number information, one or more phone numbers associatedwith the subject; determine, with the at least one processor, based atleast in part on the one or more phone numbers, a phone typecorresponding to the respective one or more phone numbers; determine,with the at least one processor, a reachability score for at least oneof the one or more phone numbers, wherein the reachability score isbased, at least in part, on the phone type; and output an indication ofthe reachability score.

According to an example implementation of the disclosed technology, oneor more non-transitory computer readable media are provided that includecomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform a methodcomprising receiving personally identifiable information comprising atleast a name of a subject and an address associated with the subject;querying one or more public or private databases with the personallyidentifiable information; receiving, in response to the querying, phonenumber information related to the personally identifiable information;extracting, from the phone number information, one or more phone numbersassociated with the subject; determining, with one or more computerprocessors, based at least in part on the one or more phone numbers, aphone type corresponding to the respective one or more phone numbers;determining, with the one or more computer processors, a reachabilityscore for at least one of the one or more phone numbers, wherein thereachability score is based, at least in part, on the phone type; andoutputting an indication of the reachability score.

Other implementations, features, and aspects of the disclosed technologyare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimeddisclosed technology. Other implementations, features, and aspects canbe understood with reference to the following detailed description,accompanying drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Reference will now be made to the accompanying figures and flowdiagrams, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative process 100 for obtainingphone number information, according to an example implementation of thedisclosed technology.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative system 200 for scoring phone numbers,according to an example implementation of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 3 depicts a computing device 300, according to an exampleimplementation of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating example information 400 that maybe used or combined in weighting and/or scoring phone number, accordingto an example implementation of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 according to an exampleimplementation of the disclosed technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some implementations of the disclosed technology will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Thisdisclosed technology might, however, be embodied in many different formsand should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forthherein.

Certain example embodiments of the disclosed technology enableidentifying a phone number such that, when called, is likely to resultin reaching a given party, entity, person, etc., (herein collectively orindividually referred to as a “subject”). Multiple phone numbers, forexample, landline numbers, cellular phone numbers, work phone numbers,previous phone numbers, etc., can be associated with a given subject,and embodiments disclosed herein provide for weighting, scoring, and/orranking the multiple phone numbers according to the likelihood thatplacing a call to a particular number will result in reaching aparticular subject. In some cases, embodiments of the disclosedtechnology may be utilized, for example, to determine which of themultiple phone numbers associated with the subject are accurate andup-to-date.

Certain example embodiments of the disclosed technology may utilize oneor more sources of information, if available, to determine phone numbersassociated with a subject. Some implementations may score the phonenumbers based on various classes of information, and/or combinations ofavailable information. In accordance with various exampleimplementations of the disclosed technology, weighting and/or scoringmay utilize empirical information. For example, a phone number may beassociated with a particular phone type, such as a cellular phone, abusiness phone, a residential phone, an Internet-based phone, a landlinebased phone, a spoofed phone number, a facsimile machine, etc. Incertain example implementations, the phone type may correlate with anability to reach the subject. For example, a number associated with acellular-type of phone may have a higher “reachability” score than anumber associated with a FAX machine. The term reachability is definedherein to mean “able to reach a particular subject by calling aparticular phone number.” Certain example implementations of thedisclosed technology may use a different model to score reachabilitydepending on the phone type. For example, cellular phones and landlinephones may be scored using different models to account for differences,not only between such phones, but also in how or where associatedinformation is stored. As an example, certain databases may be populatedonly by data associated with cellular phones.

According to an example implementation of the disclosed technology, aphone number may be scored based on an amount of time that has elapsedsince a last known use or activity associated with the phone number. Forexample, a phone number that was used in the past week may have a higherreachability score than a phone number that was last used a year ago. Incertain embodiments, the use, activity, or record associated with thephone number can include one or more of: actual use of the phone (forexample, placing a call); the presence of the phone number on anapplication; the presence of the phone number in a public record; theuse of the phone number in a private record; an indication of the phonenumber in a credit application; the use of the phone number in apurchase record; a phone bill; etc. Thus, according to certainembodiments, any number of data sources that indicate usage, activity,or records associated with a phone number can be utilized for scoringthe phone number.

In accordance with an example implementation of the disclosedtechnology, information may be combined to produce an overallreachability score. For example, if independent information is availableindicating a match between a person's name and a particular phonenumber, this combined information may increase the score. Likewise, ifindependent information is able to corroborate or verify a match betweena person's address and a particular phone number, such combinedinformation may increase the score.

According to an example implementation of the disclosed technology, acertain amount of information may be required as input in order touniquely identifying a subject. In certain example embodiments, at leasta name of the subject may be needed. In certain example embodiments, anaddress associated with the subject may be utilized, in addition to thename of the subject, for further narrowing the search for a particularsubject and/or phone number. In certain example implementations, theinput information, such as name, street address, city, state, zip code,phone number, etc., may be corroborated with independent information toaffect the reachability score. For example, combinations of availabledata may be utilized in the weighting and scoring process. In certainembodiments, one or more of following data and/orassociations/corroborations may be used in the reachability scoring of aparticular phone number:

phone type (as discussed above);

time since last known use (as discussed above);

city match;

state match;

name match;

zip code match;

number of phones associated with the address;

length of time the phone number has been in service;

vendor;

service provider;

number of owners associated with the phone number;

dwelling type associated with the address;

disconnects;

etc.

In various embodiments, one or more of following consumer levelvariables may be used in the reachability scoring of a particular phonenumber:

age of subject;

property owner status;

presence of derogatory public records;

etc.

Various systems and methods disclosed herein will now be described withreference to the accompanying figures. FIG. 1 depicts an illustrativeprocess 100 for obtaining phone number information. According to anexample implementation of the disclosed technology, a name 103 and anaddress 105 associated with a particular subject 102 may be utilized asinput for subject identification (ID) information 114. In certainexample embodiments, the address 105 may refer to a physical residence104 associated with the subject 102. In other example embodiments, theaddress 105 may be representative of a post office box, a work address,an address of a relative, a rental property, a previous residence 108,etc.

In accordance with an example implementation, additional information maybe utilized as input for the subject ID information 114, including butnot limited to, names of relatives or associates 110, miscellaneousidentification 112 (including driver's license numbers, social securitynumbers, utility account numbers, maiden names, etc.). In certainexample implementations, phone numbers 106 may be utilized as input forthe subject ID information 114.

As will be recognized by those of skill in the art, a limited amount ofinformation may be available as input for the subject ID information114, and certain embodiments of the disclosed technology may attempt touniquely identify a particular subject 102 and score related phonenumber(s) based on available input information. In an exampleimplementation, at least a name and one additional piece of informationmay be utilized as input for the subject ID information 114.

In accordance with an example implementation, the subject ID information114 may be utilized to search for phone number information 116 (andpossibly other information) related to the subject 102. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 1, the subject ID information 114 may be utilized tosearch one or more public and/or private databases 118, credit bureau(s)120, financial institutions 122, government entities 124, utilitycompanies 126, etc. In certain example implementations, the publicand/or private databases 118 may be configured to pre-fetch and storeinformation from the other sources 120 122 124 126, etc. Thus, in oneembodiment, it may be sufficient to access only a private database withthe subject ID information 114 in order to obtain phone numberinformation 116. In certain example embodiments, the retrieved phonenumber information 116 may be further analyzed, scored, weighted, etc.,by a computing device 202, and will be discussed below with reference toFIG. 2.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative system 200 for scoring phone numbers,according to an example implementation of the disclosed technology.Certain example embodiments of the disclosed technology include acomputing device 202 for receiving personally identifiable informationsuch as subject identification information 114 (personally identifiableinformation) as input, for example, via a network connection 240 (suchas via an Internet connection, for example). Certain exampleimplementations may further include the capability of directly receivingsubject identification information 114 by computing device 202, forexample, by a locally connected keyboard, etc.

In accordance with an example implementation of the disclosedtechnology, the computing device 202 may include a memory 204, one ormore processors 206, an input/output interface 208, and one or morenetwork interfaces 210 for communication with the various databases andother information sources 118-126 and for receiving the phone numberinformation 116. In certain embodiments, the computing device 202includes an operating system 212, data 214, and one or more modules 216218 220 having computer readable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors 206, cause the computing device 202 to executethe various processes. For example, the memory 204 may include anidentification (ID) module 216, a weighting module 218, and/or a scoringmodule 220. In accordance with certain example implementation of thedisclosed technology, the computing device may be configured to outputresults 250, for example via a display 220, printer, etc.

As indicated above with reference to FIG. 1, the personally identifiableinformation or subject identification information 114 (personallyidentifiable information) that may be used for input to the computingdevice 202 may include a subject name 103 and a subject address 105.Additional information may include one or more phone numbers 106 and/orother additional identification information 108 110 112 etc.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative computing device 300,according to an example implementation of the disclosed technology. Thecomputing device 300 may be embodied as the computing device 202, asshown in FIG. 2. The computing device 300 of FIG. 3 includes a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 302, where computer instructions are processed; adisplay interface 304 that acts as a communication interface andprovides functions for rendering video, graphics, images, and texts onthe display. In certain example implementations of the disclosedtechnology, the display interface 304 may be directly connected to alocal display, such as a touch-screen display associated with a mobilecomputing device. In another example implementation, the displayinterface 304 may be configured for providing data, images, and otherinformation for an external/remote display that is not necessarilyphysically connected to the computing device. For example, a desktopmonitor may be utilized for mirroring graphics and other informationthat is presented on the computing device 300. In certain exampleimplementations, the display interface 304 may wirelessly communicate,for example, via a Wi-Fi channel or other available network connectioninterface 312 to the external/remote display.

In an example implementation, the network connection interface 312 maybe configured as a communication interface, for example, to providefunctions for rendering video, graphics, images, text, otherinformation, or any combination thereof on the display. In one example,a communication interface may include a serial port, a parallel port, ageneral purpose input and output (GPIO) port, a game port, a universalserial bus (USB), a micro-USB port, a high definition multimedia (HDMI)port, a video port, an audio port, a Bluetooth port, a near-fieldcommunication (NFC) port, another like communication interface, or anycombination thereof.

The computing device 300 may include a keyboard interface 306 thatprovides a communication interface to a keyboard. In one exampleimplementation, the computing device 300 may include a pointing deviceor touch screen interface 308. According to certain exampleimplementations of the disclosed technology, the pointing device ortouch screen interface 308 may provide a communication interface tovarious devices such as a pointing device, a touch screen, a depthcamera, etc. which may or may not be associated with a display.

The computing device 300 may be configured to use an input device viaone or more of input/output interfaces (for example, the keyboardinterface 306, the display interface 304, the display interface 308,network connection interface 312, camera interface 314, sound interface316, etc.,) to allow a user to capture information into the computingdevice 300. The input device may include a mouse, a trackball, adirectional pad, a track pad, a touch-verified track pad, apresence-sensitive track pad, a presence-sensitive display, a scrollwheel, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, amicrophone, a sensor such as an accelerometer or gyroscope, a smartcard,and the like. Additionally, the input device may be integrated with thecomputing device 300 or may be a separate device.

Example implementations of the computing device 300 may include anantenna interface 310 that provides a communication interface to anantenna; a network connection interface 312 that provides acommunication interface to a network. In certain implementations, acamera interface 314 is provided for capturing digital images, forexample, from a camera. In certain implementations, a sound interface316 is provided as a communication interface for converting sound intoelectrical signals using a microphone and for converting electricalsignals into sound using a speaker. According to exampleimplementations, a random access memory (RAM) 318 is provided, wherecomputer instructions and data may be stored in a volatile memory devicefor processing by the CPU 302.

According to an example implementation, the computing device 300includes a read-only memory (ROM) 320 where invariant low-level systemcode or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output(I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard are stored ina non-volatile memory device. According to an example implementation,the computing device 300 includes a storage medium 322 or other suitabletype of memory (e.g. such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory(PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, opticaldisks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives),where the files include an operating system 324, application programs326 (including, for example, a web browser application, an invoiceextraction module, etc.) and data files 328 are stored. According to anexample implementation, the computing device 300 includes a power source330 that provides an appropriate alternating current (AC) or directcurrent (DC) to power components. According to an exampleimplementation, the computing device 300 may include and a telephonysubsystem 332 that allows the device 300 to transmit and receive soundover a telephone network. The constituent devices and the CPU 302communicate with each other over a bus 334.

In accordance with an example implementation, the CPU 302 hasappropriate structure to be a computer processor. In one arrangement,the computer CPU 302 may include more than one processing unit. The RAM318 interfaces with the computer bus 334 to provide quick RAM storage tothe CPU 302 during the execution of software programs such as theoperating system application programs, and device drivers. Morespecifically, the CPU 302 loads computer-executable process steps fromthe storage medium 322 or other media into a field of the RAM 318 inorder to execute software programs. Data may be stored in the RAM 318,where the data may be accessed by the computer CPU 302 during execution.In one example configuration, the device 300 includes at least 128 MB ofRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory.

The storage medium 322 itself may include a number of physical driveunits, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppydisk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard diskdrive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, a High-Density DigitalVersatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive,a Blu-Ray optical disc drive, or a Holographic Digital Data Storage(HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini-dual in-line memory module(DIMM) synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), or an externalmicro-DIMM SDRAM. Such computer readable storage media allow the device300 to access computer-executable process steps, application programsand the like, stored on removable and non-removable memory media, tooff-load data from the device 300 or to upload data onto the device 300.A computer program product, such as one utilizing a communication systemmay be tangibly embodied in storage medium 322, which may comprise amachine-readable storage medium.

Various implementations of the communication systems and methods hereinmay be embodied in non-transitory computer readable media for executionby a processor. An example implementation may be used in an applicationof a mobile computing device, such as a smartphone or tablet, but othercomputing devices may also be used, such as to portable computers,tablet PCs, Internet tablets, PDAs, ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs), etc.

FIG. 4 depicts various information 400 that, if available, may be usedalone or combined with the other information in weighting and/or scoring402 reachability of a phone number, according to an exampleimplementation of the disclosed technology. For example, and aspreviously discussed, a length of time 404 since the last known use ofthe phone number may be utilized for the weighting/scoring 402. In someimplementations, any number of data sources that indicate usage,activity, and/or records associated with a phone number can be utilizedfor scoring the phone number.

Another class of information 400 that may be used for input forweighting and/or scoring 402 reachability of a phone number includesdisconnects 406. For example, one type of disconnect 406 may be anintentional disconnect by a service provider, for example, todiscontinue service of the phone number. Such a disconnect 400 mayresult from situations including but not limited to: non-payment of aphone bill, cancellation of service, transferring service to a new phonenumber, etc. Other types of disconnects 406 may be unintentional, andmay related to factors such as phone line noise, phone line signalquality, outdated modem software or drivers, an overworked CPU,electrical damage, faulty software, etc.

In an example implementation, the method of searching 408 may influencethe weighting/scoring 402. For example, certain implementations of thedisclosed technology can encompass many different variables, resultingin variations for searching 408 and obtaining phone number information116 from the various sources of information 118-126. Some search 408variations may be based on different information provided in the subjectidentification information 114 (personally identifiable information).Other search 408 variations may result from the phone type, etc. Certainexample implementations of the disclosed technology may performparticular weighting/scoring 402 based on the particular method ofsearch 408. Certain example implementations of the disclosed technologymay perform particular weighting/scoring 402 based on the particulardata used in the search 408. Certain example implementations of thedisclosed technology may perform particular weighting/scoring 402 basedon data returned by the search 408.

As indicated previously, the type 410 of phone may influence theweighting/scoring 402. For example, a phone number may be associatedwith a particular phone type, such as a cellular phone, a businessphone, a residential phone, an Internet-based phone, a landline basedphone, a spoofed phone number, a facsimile machine, etc. In certainexample implementations, the phone type may determine how the returnedphone number information 116 is weighted/scored 402. For example,cellular phones and landline phones may be scored using different modelsto account for differences, not only between such phones, but also inhow or where associated information is stored.

According to an example implementation of the disclosed technology, theweighting/scoring 402 may be based, at least in part, on matchinginformation 412. For example, subject information, such as the subjectidentification information 114 (personally identifiable information) asdepicted in FIG. 1, may include one or more of a subject's name,address, phone number etc. In an example implementation, independentinformation, such as the phone number information 116, as depicted inFIG. 1, may be obtained via a search 408 of one or more of theinformation sources (for example, the various sources 118-126, asdepicted in FIG. 1) and may independently corroborate or match with theinformation provided in the subject identification information 114.

In one example implementation, if the name and address provided in thesubject identification information 114 (personally identifiableinformation) matches with the independent information returned (forexample, in the phone number information 116), then the phone numberreachability may be weighted/scored 402 higher than if there was not anindependent match. Similarly, if a phone number and name provided in thesubject identification information 114 (personally identifiableinformation) matches with the independent information returned, then thephone number reachability may be weighted/scored 402 higher than ifthere was not an independent match. In another example implementation,if an address and phone number provided in the subject identificationinformation 114 (personally identifiable information) matches with theindependent information returned, then the phone number reachability maybe weighted/scored 402 higher than if there was not an independentmatch. The examples provided above relate to some of the ways thereachability of a phone number may be weighted and/or scored 402, butother factors may further influence the weighting/scoring 402 method andoutcome.

An example method 500 for scoring a phone number will now be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. The method 500 starts inblock 502, and according to an example implementation includes receivingpersonally identifiable information comprising at least a name of asubject and an address associated with the subject. In block 504, themethod 500 includes querying one or more public or private databaseswith the personally identifiable information. In block 506, the method500 includes receiving, in response to the querying, phone numberinformation related to the personally identifiable information. In block508, the method 500 includes extracting, from the phone numberinformation, one or more phone numbers associated with the subject. Inblock 510, the method 500 includes determining, with one or morecomputer processors, based at least in part on the one or more phonenumbers, a phone type corresponding to the respective one or more phonenumbers. In block 512, the method 500 includes determining, with the oneor more computer processors, a reachability score for at least one ofthe one or more phone numbers, wherein the reachability score is based,at least in part, on the phone type. In block 514, the method 500includes outputting an indication of the reachability score.

In certain example implementations, the reachability score may furtherbe based on one or more matches between the personally identifiableinformation and the phone number information. In some exampleimplementations, the reachability score may further be based on a numberof previous disconnects associated with the phone number. In certainexample implementations, the reachability score may further be based ona length of time since a last known use of the phone number.

In accordance with an example implementation of the disclosedtechnology, the received phone number information may be based on one ormore of: utility, credit, property, public, financial, and governmentalrecords associated with the subject or the personally identifiableinformation.

According to an example implementation of the disclosed technology, thephone type may include, as applicable, one or more of: a cellular phone,a facsimile machine, a business phone, a residential phone, anInternet-based phone, a land-line based phone, and a spoofed phonenumber.

Example implementation of the disclosed technology may include storing,in a first database, one or more records. Each of the one or morerecords may include, as applicable, one or more of: an entity identifieruniquely identifying the subject, the one or more phone numbersassociated with the subject, phone type characteristics associated withthe one or more phone number, and/or the reachable score associated withat least one of the one or more phone numbers.

In accordance with an example implementation of the disclosedtechnology, the phone number information may be derived from, asapplicable, one or more of: driver license information, vehicleregistration information, utility information, voting information,criminal information, and court information; deed information,assessment information, tax information, sales information, and/orinsurance information.

According to example implementations, certain technical effects can beprovided, such as creating certain systems and methods that provide anindication of how successful a call to a certain phone number will be inreaching a particular subject. Example implementations of the disclosedtechnology can provide the further technical effects of providingsystems and methods for updating records with phone numbers that have ahigh reachability score.

Throughout the specification and claims, numerous specific details areset forth. However, it is to be understood that implementations of thedisclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have notbeen shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of thisdescription. References to “one implementation,” “an implementation,”“example implementation,” “various implementations,” etc., indicate thatthe implementation(s) of the disclosed technology so described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but notevery implementation necessarily includes the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “inone implementation” does not necessarily refer to the sameimplementation, although it may.

Various techniques described herein may utilize interactions with acomputing device. The various aspects described herein are presented asmethods, devices (or apparatus), systems, and articles of manufacturethat may include a number of components, elements, members, modules,nodes, peripherals, or the like. Further, these methods, devices,systems, and articles of manufacture may include or not includeadditional components, elements, members, modules, nodes, peripherals,or the like.

According to one example implementation, the term computing device, asused herein, may be a CPU, or conceptualized as a CPU (for example, theCPU 302 of FIG. 3). In certain example implementations, the computingdevice (CPU) may be coupled, connected, and/or in communication with oneor more peripheral devices, such as display, navigation system, stereo,entertainment center, Wi-Fi access point, etc. In another exampleimplementation, the term computing device or mobile computing device, asused herein, may refer to a mobile computing device, such as asmartphone, mobile station (MS), terminal, cellular phone, cellularhandset, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, wireless phone,organizer, handheld computer, desktop computer, laptop computer, tabletcomputer, set-top box, television, appliance, game device, medicaldevice, display device, or some other like terminology. In an exampleembodiment, the mobile computing device may output content to its localdisplay and/or speaker(s). In another example implementation, the mobilecomputing device may output content to an external display device (e.g.,over Wi-Fi) such as a TV or an external computing system.

Furthermore, the various aspects described herein may be implementedusing standard programming or engineering techniques to producesoftware, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control acomputing device to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term“article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass acomputer program accessible from any computing device, carrier, ormedia. For example, a computer-readable medium may include a magneticstorage device such as a hard disk, a floppy disk or a magnetic strip;an optical disk such as a compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk(DVD); a smart card; and a flash memory device such as a card, stick orkey drive. Additionally, it should be appreciated that a carrier wavemay be employed to carry computer-readable electronic data includingthose used in transmitting and receiving electronic data such aselectronic mail (e-mail) or in accessing a computer network such as theInternet or a local area network (LAN). Of course, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize many modifications may be made to thisconfiguration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimedsubject matter.

In example implementations of the disclosed technology, the computingdevice 300 may include any number of hardware and/or softwareapplications that are executed to facilitate any of the operations. Inexample implementations, one or more I/O interfaces may facilitatecommunication between the computing device 300 and one or moreinput/output devices. For example, a universal serial bus port, a serialport, a disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, and/or one or more user interfacedevices, such as a display, keyboard, keypad, mouse, control panel,touch screen display, microphone, etc., may facilitate user interactionwith the computing device 300. The one or more I/O interfaces may beutilized to receive or collect data and/or user instructions from a widevariety of input devices. Received data may be processed by one or morecomputer processors as desired in various implementations of thedisclosed technology and/or stored in one or more memory devices.

One or more network interfaces may facilitate connection of thecomputing device 300 inputs and outputs to one or more suitable networksand/or connections; for example, the connections that facilitatecommunication with any number of sensors associated with the system. Theone or more network interfaces may further facilitate connection to oneor more suitable networks; for example, a local area network, a widearea network, the Internet, a cellular network, a radio frequencynetwork, a Bluetooth enabled network, a Wi-Fi enabled network, asatellite-based network any wired network, any wireless network, etc.,for communication with external devices and/or systems.

As desired, implementations of the disclosed technology may include thecomputing device 300 with more or less of the components illustrated inFIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3.

Certain implementations of the disclosed technology are described abovewith reference to block and flow diagrams of systems and methods and/orcomputer program products according to example implementations of thedisclosed technology. It will be understood that one or more blocks ofthe block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theblock diagrams and flow diagrams, respectively, can be implemented bycomputer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of theblock diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to beperformed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to beperformed at all, according to some implementations of the disclosedtechnology.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a processor, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particularmachine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer,processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create meansfor implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be storedin a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram blockor blocks. As an example, implementations of the disclosed technologymay provide for a computer program product, comprising a computer-usablemedium having a computer-readable program code or program instructionsembodied therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to beexecuted to implement one or more functions specified in the flowdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatusto cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed onthe computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or stepsfor implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block orblocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functionsand program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, orcombinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While certain implementations of the disclosed technology have beendescribed in connection with what is presently considered to be the mostpractical and various implementations, it is to be understood that thedisclosed technology is not to be limited to the disclosedimplementations, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope ofthe appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, theyare used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

This written description uses examples to disclose certainimplementations of the disclosed technology, including the best mode,and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice certainimplementations of the disclosed technology, including making and usingany devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. Thepatentable scope of certain implementations of the disclosed technologyis defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do notdiffer from the literal language of the claims, or if they includeequivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from theliteral language of the claims.

We claim:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: querying one ormore public or private databases with personally identifiableinformation related to a subject; receiving, in response to thequerying, phone number information related to the personallyidentifiable information; extracting, from the phone number information,at least one phone number associated with the subject; determining, withone or more computer processors, a reachability score for the at leastone phone number, wherein the reachability score is based, at least inpart, on a number of owners associated with the at least one phonenumber; and outputting an indication of the reachability score.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the reachability score is further based onone or more matches between the personally identifiable information andthe phone number information.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thereachability score is further based on one or more of: a number ofprevious disconnects associated with the at least one phone number; anumber of phones associated with an address of the subject; a dwellingtype associated with the address of the subject; a status of a propertyassociated with the address of the subject; an age of the subject; apresence of derogatory public records associated with the subject; and alength of time since a last known use of the at least one phone number.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reachability score is based, atleast in part, on a number of previous owners associated with the atleast one phone number.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receivedphone number information is based on one or more of: utility, credit,property, public, financial, and governmental records associated withthe subject or the personally identifiable information.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining, with the one or more computerprocessors, based at least in part on the at least one phone number, aphone type corresponding to the respective at least one phone number. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the phone type comprises, as applicable,one or more of: a cellular phone, a facsimile machine, a business phone,a residential phone, an Internet-based phone, a land-line based phone,and a spoofed phone number.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingstoring, in a first database, one or more records comprising one or moreof: an entity identifier uniquely identifying the subject, the at leastone phone number associated with the subject, phone type characteristicsassociated with the at least one phone number, and the reachable scoreassociated with the at least one phone number.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising outputting a plurality of phone numbers ranked inorder of reachability.
 10. A system comprising: at least one memory forstoring data and computer-executable instructions; and at least oneprocessor configured to access the at least one memory and furtherconfigured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: query oneor more public or private databases with personally identifiableinformation related to a subject; receive, in response to the querying,phone number information related to the personally identifiableinformation; extract, by the at least one processor and from the phonenumber information, at least one phone number associated with thesubject; determine, by the at least one processor, a reachability scorefor the at least one phone number, wherein the reachability score isbased, at least in part, on a number of owners associated with the atleast one phone number; and output an indication of the reachabilityscore.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the reachability score isfurther based on one or more matches between the personally identifiableinformation and the phone number information.
 12. The system of claim10, wherein the reachability score is further based on one or more of: anumber of previous disconnects associated with the at least one phonenumber; a number of phones associated with an address of the subject; adwelling type associated with the address of the subject; a status of aproperty associated with the address of the subject; an age of thesubject; a presence of derogatory public records associated with thesubject; and a length of time since a last known use of the at least onephone number.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the reachability scoreis based, at least in part, on a number of previous owners associatedwith the at least one phone number.
 14. The system of claim 10, whereinthe received phone number information is based on one or more of:utility, credit, property, public, financial, and governmental recordsassociated with the subject or the personally identifiable information.15. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to determine, based at least in part on the at leastone phone number, a phone type corresponding to the respective at leastone phone number.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the phone typecomprises, as applicable, one or more of: a cellular phone, a facsimilemachine, a business phone, a residential phone, an Internet-based phone,a land-line based phone, and a spoofed phone number.
 17. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured toexecute the computer-executable instructions to store, in a firstdatabase, one or more records comprising one or more of: an entityidentifier uniquely identifying the subject, the at least one phonenumbers associated with the subject, phone type characteristicsassociated with the at least one phone number, and the reachable scoreassociated with at least one of the at least one phone numbers.
 18. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to output a plurality of phone numbers ranked in order ofreachability.
 19. One or more non-transitory computer readable mediacomprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a methodcomprising: querying one or more public or private databases withpersonally identifiable information related to a subject; receiving, inresponse to the querying, phone number information related to thepersonally identifiable information; extracting, from the phone numberinformation, at least one phone number associated with the subject;determining, with one or more computer processors, a reachability scorefor the at least one phone number, wherein the reachability score isbased, at least in part, on a number of owners associated with the atleast one phone number; and outputting an indication of the reachabilityscore.
 20. The computer readable media of claim 19, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to output a plurality ofphone numbers ranked in order of reachability.